The Vancouver Canucks head into the 2025-26 season hoping to bounce back from a campaign where they fell from their Pacific Division penthouse and missed the playoffs. After a relatively quiet offseason where they only added Evander Kane up front and Pierre-Olivier Joseph on defence, they will be banking on their core stepping up and returning them to contender status.
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As we get closer to training camp, the preseason, and finally opening night against the Calgary Flames, I will continue to get you set for the 2025-26 season with the player preview series, which got started early in the offseason with Aatu Raty and recently featured Drew O’Connor. Next on the docket is Conor Garland.
Conor Garland
- Age: 29
- Drafted: Round 5, 123rd overall by the Arizona Coyotes in 2015
- How Acquired: Trade with the Coyotes on July 23, 2021
- 2024-25 Stats: 19 goals and 50 points in 81 games
- Career Stats: 122 goals and 291 points in 485 games
- 2025-26 Contract Status: Year five of a five-year contract worth $4.95 million average annual value (AAV); six-year extension signed on July 1, 2025, worth $6 million AAV
2024-25 Season Recap
Garland was, without a doubt, the Canucks’ best and most consistent forward last season. He was also one of the few players to stay relatively healthy, missing only one game in March due to an undisclosed injury. He logged a career-high 18:39 in average ice time and was used in all situations, including the penalty kill, something he only saw 48 seconds on in 2023-24. While he wasn’t part of the high-minute men, he accumulated 64:32 of shorthanded ice time, averaging 48 seconds per game. He was also a favourite of the coaching staff on the power play, seeing more ice time than Elias Pettersson and Jake DeBrusk, falling just behind Brock Boeser and Quinn Hughes at 235:39 (2:55 average).
Thanks to that extra time on special teams, Garland scored seven power-play goals and blocked 58 shots, both eclipsing previous career-highs of four (2018-19 and 2019-20) and 34 (2023-24), respectively. He was also his usual shifty, pesky, and hard-working self on the forecheck and in front of the net, endearing himself to fans even more than he already had in previous seasons. His ability to spin and use his edges to elude defenders along the boards was on display multiple times throughout the season, further solidifying his status as one of the best undersized forwards and agitators in the NHL.
Related: Canucks 2025-26 Season Preview on YouTube
While Garland’s standout season didn’t lead the Canucks to the playoffs, he was able to join another team for some postseason hockey when he was added to Team USA’s roster for the World Championship. Like he was with the Canucks, he was one of their best players, scoring five goals and 10 points in 10 games en route to a gold medal – the country’s first in 92 years. He was named a top-three player on the team and might even join them again on an even bigger stage at the 2026 Olympics. He was invited to Team USA’s Orientation Camp in August, and if he gets off to a hot start with the Canucks, he should be donning the red, white and blue in Italy in February.
Finally, to cap off Garland’s standout season, he signed a six-year extension on July 1 to remain with the Canucks until 2031-32. Not to mention, he is now the proud father of Quint Garland, who was born in November.
2025-26 Season Role/Expectations
Garland will have to break in a couple of new linemates this season, with Dakota Joshua in Toronto and Pius Suter in St. Louis. He logged 197:05 at even strength with the now former Canucks, and will likely be lining up with Filip Chytil and Jake DeBrusk/Evander Kane on the second line when the season kicks off on Oct. 9. He could also drop to the third line if the coaching staff decides to reunite the duo of Chytil and O’Connor that was so effective at the end of last season. But whatever the case, Garland will embrace any role he’s given by new head coach Adam Foote.
“It’s an ability I have, and I take all the pride in it,” Garland said. “I can play first line, second line, third line, fourth line, PK, power play. Wherever I go, I feel like I can help the team. Me and Footy (head coach Adam Foote) talked about that in the summer, you know, ‘If I need you there, you’ve got to go there.’ He knows I’ll never complain. I played third line last year and still played 20 minutes some nights. If you play well, the coach wants to get you on the ice. If you play poorly, your time is going to be limited. That’s how I always view it.”
With a six-year extension in hand, Garland is now a core piece of the Canucks and will be expected to be a leader offensively and in the dressing room, a role he says he welcomes and wants to grow into more.
“For me, I think it’s just through my hard work and my love for the game. I hope I can come in every day and make guys happy to be at the rink. I’d love to be that type of leader,” he said. “I was happy to sign the contract because, you know, I wanted to be in Vancouver. I like it here. We have a lot of good pieces, and you want to be … a core piece going forward, and someone who can help enhance the culture. I really love this sport, and I have a real outlook of gratitude on it. I like to kind of share that — how special it is that we do get to do this for a living, and what a great day it is anytime you’re at the rink.”
Garland is already a favourite of Foote, so I expect he will get even more ice time on the penalty with Suter and Joshua off the roster. His speed, smarts and relentless up-ice pressure are hallmarks of his game, three ingredients that make up an elite penalty killer. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if he was the winger sent out alongside Teddy Blueger on the top PK unit, given their chemistry from their days as one of the best third lines in the league.
Final Stat Prediction
Garland will once again be deployed in all situations this season, and might even become a fixture in the top-six and on the penalty kill. As of this writing, he is projected to play on the second line alongside another speedy forward in Chytil and a big body in DeBrusk or Kane. That trio could end up being a very effective second wave of offence behind the top line led by Pettersson and Boeser. As such, I am predicting a 25-goal season for Garland with at least one shorthanded goal, which would be the first of his career.
Other Canucks 2025-26 Player Previews
